Make Friends
by derpittyderp
Summary: Neal Caffrey and agent Peter Burke are assigned to a case that requires them to go to Pearson-Hardman undercover. They will meet Mike Ross and Harvey Specter. They will all need to make new friends. Fun times. Suits and White Collar Crossover. Rated T for mild stuff like a bit of swearing Disclaimer- I don't own any of this content.
1. Chapter 1

Suits and White Collar crossover

**A/N- So bored. And sick. But mostly bored. Sets place in S1 of Suits and any season of White Collar.**

**DISCLAIMER- I own none of this.**

**_At White Collar Headquarters_**

"Neal!"

Con-man extraordinaire Neal Caffrey gets up and makes his way up the stairs. Diana and Jones look at him and mouth _"What's going on?"_ Neal just smirks and continues to head toward Peter Burke's office. Ones in he shuts the door and settles himself on the seat facing Peter; his feet on the table.

"What's up Peter?"

"El wants you over for dinner today."

"I'll be there. I was actually thinking more along the lines of why Hughes kicked me out of the office."

"Cuz he wanted to talk to me."

"And he couldn't say it in front of me?"

"Nope."

"Buddy, I'm hurt; I thought this was a no secret zone. Don't tell me you're cheating on me with another CI."

"No, one ex-convict is one too many as it is."

Neal smirks.

"Okay, so seriously what's up?"

"Neal, what do you know about the law firm Pearson Hardman?"

"Law firm. Best in the city. Plenty of clients and only hires from Harvard Law."

"Neal," Peter says.

"I…may have made a business call there every once in a while."

"What kind of business call?" Peter asks with one eyebrow arched up.

Neal returns the look with one of his own that read _"Really gotta ask Peter?"_

"Right," Peter grunts, "Dumb question."

"Why the interrogation Peter?" Neal asks, curious now.

"Well, the newest Target has been all over the place stealing lots and lots of money by robbing scientists of designs and selling them on the black market."

Neal cuts in, "And let me guess, all the victims…"

"Were all clients of Pearson Hardman, yes," Peter finishes.

"So why are we just taking this now? Why weren't we on this since the beginning?"

"Jessica Pearson happens to be a close friend of El's. She just made the connection and wants this to stop. She told El about it. El told her about the work we did, and the woman has requested the two of us personally to work this case. It also helps that she has helped out the FBI and the D.O.J. on occasion."

"So I imagine they want to be kept in the loop."

"Yep, we're going to be working closely undercover with Ms. Pearson's senior associates. I assume in the 'business dealings' you picked up on how this firm works? Or do I have to re-brief you?"

"Nope, I'm good."

"Okay, they have all the stuff we need in the firm. Let's go."

Peter grabs a file and heads out the door and Neal trails behind.

"Wait Peter," Neal calls out as they head down the stairs, "What are we undercover as?"

"Lawyers."

**_At Pearson-Hardman law firm; Harvey Specter's office_**

"So the FBI is going to be working with us and we're the only ones that know?"

"Sounds about right Ross."

Donna, Harvey, Rachel, and Mike all stare at Jessica a bit with varying degrees of shock or amusement on their faces.

"B-but why us?!" Mike sputters.

Jessica looks at him and says, "Because you all have solid alibis for the time each crime happened and since the FBI s working undercover they need a team of people that I trust to help them get settled and smooth out any complications. Harvey, Mike, and Donna; you will be their go to guys because you're office is right next door to the one I'm giving them, but the other senior partners know too. Rachel, you're given more leave to do as you please than most so you can help them out without attracting attention."

Rachel cuts in here, "Why undercover?"

"The CI says that this kind of thing could only have happened if it was an inside crime unless it was done by a master at the trade. He says that our criminal's movements indicate careful but too desperate for a master. The agent in charge agrees with him and says to catch the suspect they need to not spook him or her so they will be operating undercover until further notice. Any more questions?"

"Yeah," Harvey says, "One more."

"Yes Harvey? What does his highness want?"

"Funny; I just wanted to know who the agent in charge is."

"You remember Elizabeth Burke right? She plans all our senior initiation and year-end parties?"

"Yeah, nice lady. Very pretty."

"Well," Jessica drags the word out while leaning in, "Lay off her. Not only is she completely in love with her husband, her hubby is also the agent in charge. Peter Burke."

Mike chimes in and asks, "And the other guy?"

Jessica smiles at the question. She looks over meaningfully at Harvey and says two words, "Neal Caffrey."

Harvey's face immediately blanches. Donna giggles. Mike looks confused.

"No, no," Harvey says, "No way."

"What's the matter," Donna chokes out in between giggles, "You afraid of having someone actually smarter than you in the building?"

"He's not smarter than me!" Harvey protested.

"Yeah he is," Donna counters, "He was 19 when he came into this firm, stole files while you were in the room, and walks out like it was nothing. He even left you a note right? The one that said, 'Catch me, if you can J'."

Harvey opens his mouth to say something but is cut off by Mike.

"What?!"

"Yep," Donna giggles, "You should have seen Harvey's face. And to make it all better Harvey then challenged the guy to go to court with him and he shows up! His lawyer kicked Harvey's ass. And the guy was his own lawyer!"

"Doesn't mean he's smarter than me!" Harvey says indignantly.

"Yeah, it kind of does," Mike says while holding back his own laughter.

"You shut up or you're fired," Harvey shoots back.

Mike clams up then, but still silently giggles.

Harvey throws one last warning glare in Mike and Donna's direction and then he turns to Jessica and asks, "Why are we letting a known criminal into the firm anyways? What's he doing posing as an FBI agent?"

"He's not,' Jessica replies simply, "He was caught and now as a work-release program he's a CI for Agent Burke."

Donna is the one who asks this time. "Can Burke handle a man like Caffrey?"

All heads turn to Jessica questioningly.

"Well seeing as he caught Caffrey twice, yes I'd say so."

"Burke did?" Harvey asks incredulously.

"Yep, so show the man some respect Harvey… He's already proven he's smarter than you."

With that she starts to walk out of the room, but not before saying, "Behave. And make friends with them okay? They're here as a favor," over her shoulder.


	2. Chapter 2

**_4 Hours Later at Pearson Hardman; Next door to Harvey's office_**

"Peter, I got to tell you something," Neal says nervously. He glances up at his handler from his seat sheepishly.

"Yeah? Shoot."

"You know that guy? Harvey Specter?"

"Our go to guy?" Peter looks up, not liking the direction this conversation was going. Seeing Neal's face confirmed his fears.

"You stole from him?"

"And may have also publically embarrassed him now that I think about it."

"What?! Okay, we can fix this tell me what happened."

Neal didn't say a word.

"Fine," Peter exclaims as he digs out his badge, "Full immunity."

Neal proceeded to tell him the whole story. Peter ughed and groaned and facepalmed more and more as the story went on. Finally he stops and says, "Look Peter they guy's alright, but he was a self-important prick. I just wanted to take him down a few notches. Seemed like harmless fun at the time."

"Self important huh?" Peter asked, a bit amused.

"Don't say it. I seriously didn't think it'd bite me in the ass like this."

"Yeah, well that's karma for you," Then after a pause Peter said, "You are going to make friends with him."

"You're serious?"

"Deadly. Don't worry though. However much that guy hates you, I'll bet Sara hated you worse. She let up didn't she?"

"Yeah, to find out what happened to Kate. I highly doubt this guy will be interested in helping me avenge my dead girlfriend."

There's a knock on the door. Peter and Neal turn to see Mike through the glass door.

"Give it a try Neal," Peter says before motioning for Mike to enter.

At the same time, Mike is damning Harvey under his breath with all his might. Because of Harvey, he is now stuck briefing a rough and tough FBI agent and his super-smart thief/CI about the details on their covers. Officially, Mike had yet to meet the pair, but he was with the senior partners when Jessica welcomed them and he'd researched them. Peter Burke worked from just your typical FBI agent to leader of the White Collar division in New York state headquarters; one of the first ever. Happily married to Elizabeth Burke. Very decorated agent. Even before Neal, Burke had a truly impressive closure rate, and after Neal? It was off the charts. Now, Neal Caffrey, that was one heck of a man to research. No records before he was 18. 27 known aliases and dozens of suspected ones. Suspected of stealing no less than 68 famous paintings and it's rumored that he once stole the Hope Diamond and then put it back on a dare. Said to be the best con man and forger in the world; he is also a world class lock-picker, gambler, disappearing act, thief in general, and chess player. Interpol, CIA, US Marshals, MI6, Marines, just about all state law enforcement, and FBI all chased him for no less than 3 years, but when the FBI, namely Burke, finally caught him and could only pin him on bond forgery, and the only reason they could do that was by manipulating the guy's girlfriend after a bad break-up. They have yet to find the stash he hid. He went to jail for a 4-year sentence, but broke out with only a few months left on his sentence to find his girlfriend. When she broke it off he gave up and let himself be captured. Shortly after, for reasons not verified, he started working with Burke. He was very specific in the terms; he'd only work for Burke. A few months ago he was involved in a plane explosion in which Kate Monreau died. The details around that were fuzzy. Currently, Caffrey stays with a rich widow named June, who did have quite an impressive list of allegations herself, and other than June he appears to maintain his contacts underground.

In other words, these men were, at best, intimidating. Mike had seen them come in. Agent Burke was exactly as Mike had imagined. A hard-looking man, around Harvey's age, all hard lines and angles, strong looking, and he commanded the air around him. Dude was a rock. But he did shake Mike's hand and there was nothing condescending about his tone. All-in-all he seemed like an okay guy.

Neal Caffrey though, he seemed a bit like Harvey. Not quite as pompous, but he was good and he knew it. When Mike first saw him, he didn't see him. The guy blended into the shadows behind Burke perfectly, but once Mike saw him, he wondered how he could miss him. He looked around Mike's age, maybe a tiny bit older. In his old time suit and fedora hat he should have looked ridiculous, but somehow he pulled it off. He also oozed sex appeal; Mike could see that and he was a straight man. However, by some miracle he was still able to blend into his surroundings. It's like at first you didn't see him, but once you did, you asked yourself how the hell you could have missed him.

The partners had an impromptu senior initiation for Burke and a newbie celebration for Caffrey to avoid suspicion. Caffrey didn't say much, but whenever he did talk Mike noticed he would look over at Burke, as if to ask if he was allowed to say what he was going to say. Burke talked, but mostly about the case, and from time to time Caffrey would chime in, but most of the time he'd whisper something low to Burke and sit back down. Then when Burke left, Caffrey trailed behind like a trained guard dog.

So first impressions? Burke was a hard-ass, tough FBI agent and Caffrey was on a veeeerryy short leash and never went it solo.

He enters the office to a completely different air. Burke had an exasperated look and Caffrey was clearly enjoying annoying his handler.

"Hey," Caffrey says flippantly as Mike walks in, "You're Harvey's little slave right?"

"Y-you could say that," Mike stutters out.

"Neal…" Burke hisses. Then he turns to Mike, "I apologize for my consultant. He didn't mean to imply…"

"I retract that apology. I totally did mean to," Neal cut in.

"Neal shut up," Burke says, a bit more agitated this time.

Neal does, but not before shooting a smirk Mike's way that just makes him want to check for his wallet. He does. It's not there. Somewhere in the panic of loosing his wallet he hears Caffrey laugh. Mike looks over to see what's so funny, and sees Caffrey holding his wallet with two fingers and Burke looking annoyed.

"How'd you do that? You were all the way over there!" Mike exclaimed.

Cafffrey ignores him and begins to read Mike's ID, "Michael Ross. Born in…"

Suddenly, Burke grabs the wallet, and glares at Caffrey. He reaches over and returns it to Mike.

"Sorry about that," Burke apologized again.

"Mike looks over at Caffrey, "I could tell on you, you know."

"You won't," Caffrey says nonchalantly.

"How do you know?"

"Because," Caffrey says while wearing what Harvey calls a 'winner's grin', "I know you didn't go to Harvard."


	3. Chapter 3

"What do you mean he knows?!" Harvey rages, "He can't know; we covered everything. Your name was even on the graduates. You have a diploma now too! How'd he find out?"

"I-I don't know," Mike admits, "He said he could just tell."

At that very moment Neal knocks on the door. Mike and Harvey share a look and Harvey indicates for him to come in. He does. As he approaches Mike can see his face contorted into a mix of chastised puppy and amusement.

"Sorry about earlier," Neal says while facing Mike.

He then turns to face Harvey and says, "Peter tells me to assure you that since technically Mike Ross does have a degree that it is not any of our business to interfere in."

Mike can't help himself and asks, "And the apology; was that you or Agent Burke?"

Neal smirks, "Take a guess. We, more than anyone, are on the same boat, my friend."

With that he walks out of the room. Neal listens as the room behind him erupts with noise and questions, and he smirks. This could be fun. Harvey was as fun to mess with as he remembered. The guy was slick, smooth, smart, everything Neal was, but he lacked the general likability Neal had. And they were after two different things. And Mike? He kind of reminded Neal of a mix between Mozzie's genius, Peter's morals, and a confused twelve year old. Yep, he was going to have fun here.

"Neal," Peter calls out, effectively snapping Neal out of his own world.

"Yes Peter?" Neal asks innocently, "Why are you using the face?"

"What face?" Peter asks confused.

"The 'trouble' face."

When Peter still looks confused Neal continues, "The one you use whenever I'm in trouble."

"Oh sorry," Peter says as sarcastically as humanly possible, "It's just permanently etched onto my face now. Saves me the trouble of having to change facial expressions every two seconds."

"Hey," Neal chimes in indignantly, "I'm not in trouble that often."

"Maybe not _in_ trouble," Peter agrees, but then adds, "But you always _are_ trouble."

To that, Neal's got nothing to say.

Peter recognizes his win and basks in it for a bit before saying, "I got the specifics for our cover. I'm Peter Kingsley, a transferred lawyer from another state. Due to my impressive record and closeness to Jessica, I landed myself with a senior partner role right off the bat. I've been given a hotel suite, as have you, until this is all over, and new suits. You are Neal D'Agay. You came from France to attend Harvard. You're still new to the business and I hired you as my associate back in California, where we originally worked. You came with me to NYC when I left. You spend expansive amounts of time with me due to the fact that you are still, in comparison, new to the country. You answer to me. You work for me. I am your boss. Got it? Oh, and don't worry about anyone checking up. Harvard will back our story as will the firm Justin& Jones in CA."

"Lying, working, listening to Peter, and being a slave. So it's just like my deal now except for lawyers instead of agents."

"Yes it is."

Neal smiles and then asks, "So where are we going?"

"Your cubicle," Peter says, "You got to work somewhere. My office is the one you were just in by the way."

Peter leads Neal to a small cubicle. It doesn't escape Neal's attention that it's right across from Mike Ross'. It looks only a bit smaller than the one Neal has at the Bureau. All-in-all, it could be worse.

"We start today. Just so you know," Peter tells Neal.

Neal's reply is only one word, "Excellent."

Fourteen housing court reports and twelve patent claims later, and Neal wasn't feeling the 'excellent', but Peter insisted that they need to keep up appearances for at least the first day when Neal whined to him. So here he is. It was like FBI work he usually did actually (well he was supposed to do), but there's no shmuck of an agent to hand it off to this time, and honestly? The FBI reports at least tested his skills a bit and were a tiny bit exciting. This? This is not.

Neal groaned. How did these lawyers actually enjoy their jobs?

"Yeah it sucks doesn't it?" asked a voice from behind Neal.

Neal turns around to see Mike Ross smiling lightly at him. Interesting. Neal didn't really think he left all that great of an impression on Mr. Ross, and yet now he wants to attempt another conversation? Curious, Neal looks around at all the other associates talking. Yep, still there gossiping. Why isn't Mike with them? Suddenly it hits him like a ton of bricks. Mike's smart, works for Harvey, has an eidetic memory, works for Harvey, has potential, works for Harvey, lacks charm but makes up for it with eagerness and a bleeding heart (a trait that is oftentimes frowned upon), and he works for HARVEY. The kid probably doesn't make friends all that easily. Harvey isn't too popular.

"Yeah kind of does," Neal whispered back, "But don't tell Peter I'm complaining. He'd never let me hear the end of it."

"Can't be worse than Harvey," Mike states. His comment is a little bitter, but clearly he's delighted that Neal's talking to him.

"Wanna bet?" Neal asks, "Peter carries a gun and the ability to throw me into SuperMax if and when I mess up."

"Seriously?" Mike leans in and whispers, "No screw ups? At all?"

"Well technically saying no…" Neal trails off and then says, "Well, Peter's the best case scenario I could have. Let's just say there's a reason I chose to work for him. He lets things slide every once in a while."

Mike fixes Neal a look, "He doesn't look like it."

"Yeah, well."

Mike and Neal both lapse into a semi-awkward silence. Then Neal speaks up.

"So how is it like working for THE Harvey Specter?"

"Hard, annoying?" Mike groans.

"Why do you stay then?"

"Have you met the man? I can't leave!"

Mike takes a second after that, then says, "Really though, it's not too bad. He's covered for me a few times too. Probably about the same as Peter has for you."

Neal laughs.

"Oh trust me, you don't even know the half of it."

"Oh really?" Mike knows a challenge when he sees one, "Alright the. Worst thing I did was break into another firm and get caught."

"Hm, pretty badass," Neal said, humoring Mike and then said, "Well I was in a judge's office being wrongfully accused of theft. It was on the fourth or fifth floor. I jumped out of it onto an awning and escaped into a sewer system right in front of Peter. Then I roped his wife, Elizabeth, into a scheme to prove my innocence."

Mike just freezes for a bit.

"Oh geez," he finally says when he's sure he can answer, "Aw man, Harvey'd have my head on a plaque for something like that."

The two men then silently laugh and turn back to their work.

In the meantime, Harvey, Jessica, and Peter are working out how the operation is going to work.

"So that sound like that's it," Harvey says, "Wonderful."

"Look," Peter cuts in, "I know Neal has given you some trouble before but…"

"Don't worry," Harvey assures Peter, "I'm over it. He's working for us now, and whatever I may think of him he's definitely smart. He beat me, sort of, so he better be. Hey, I've been meaning to ask; how'd you catch him?"

Peter sniffs a bit in amusement, "I'd been studying Neal for three years. He was a con-man of unbelievable proportions and he runs like a genius. He had, well has, n weaknesses as a con-man. He's jack of all trades and master of a few more. He's got all his bases covered from physical to mental to social."

"Sounds like a young Harvey," Jessica says in a semi-teasing manner.

"Yeah, I guess a bit," Peter replies, "but there are three basic differences."

Harvey pipes up this time.

"Which is?"

"You're a great lawyer."

Upon seeing the raised brows, Peter explained.

"First, Mr. Specter you believe in winning. I've checked your records; you wont cross too many lines for the sake of the company, but generally saying you'll do it all to win. You're an amazing lawyer. No matter who you're up against or who you're defending, you swoop in and win it. Not Neal. See for Neal, he's a thief. When the waters get too choppy for thieves they back off. It's not about the win with Neal. If it was about the win then Neal could have quit after his 5th Monet theft. Neal likes the thrill. He liked the cat-and-mouse game too. Neal enjoys enjoying life, all the little thrills included. Secondly, Neal could never defend someone who was guilty of something like hurting others. The kid thinks of violence as taboo. He never hurt anyone, not even with his thefts. And lastly? This is the whole reason I felt the need to tell you any of this. You need to watch out for Neal. He's like a kid with no impulse control."

"What's that mean?" Jessica asks.

"Ms. Pearson, trust me you'll find out soon enough."


	4. Chapter 4

**_Park Restaurant; Lunch hour_**

"So you sold a guy Menlo Park?"

"Yep," Neal tells Mike as he bites into his pasta.

"You owned Menlo Park?" Mike asks amazed.

"No, of course not. But my client didn't have to know that. All he had to do was pay me."

"Man, I thought what Harvey does is skeevy."

"Come on, what kind of con would I be if I couldn't pull that off at least? Most basic of all cons. All you gotta do is talk."

"I'm watching myself around you…"

"Peter says that too."

Neal pauses for a bit and then says, "Come to think of it, where is Peter? I know, I'll text him."

"You seem on good terms with your boss," Mike says while watching Neal text to his heart's content, "You know, most people can't wait to get away from their boss."

"Me and Peter share a more unique relationship. We're friends…kinda."

"Kinda?"

"Well, we like each other enough to enjoy each other's company."

"So according to your criteria, me and Harvey are friends. Or me and Jessica. Or me and Louis."

"You guys aren't?" Neal asks, now genuinely confused. The Jessica girl seemed to like Mike well enough and Harvey and Mike looked fine when Neal saw them together.

"No… Well, Harvey and I we are kind of I guess, but you know you don't want to hang out with your boss after work," Mike says.

"Oh you don't?" Neal asks, "Whoops."

Mike puts his burger down at that.

"You're telling me you opt to spend time with your boss, who happens to be the FBI agent handling you, after work hours? Why?"

"Peter's not that bad. He's got a very outdated sense of humor, but that can be worked on. Besides Elizabeth's lovely. His wife by the way. And his dog Satchmo is just the cutest. Always wants to be walked."

"You've walked his dog?"

"I like dogs," Neal counters.

Suddenly, Neal's phone buzzes with a text.

"Oh Peter can't make it. He wants me back to look over some stuff too," Neal looks up at Mike, "You want to come? He says its fine."

"Can I?"

"Why not? You're part of the firm right? Besides, Harvey's going to be there."

"Ah, I better go then."

"Yeah."

**_15 Minutes Later at Pearson Hardman_**

"Hey Peter," Neal chirps, "I got you a burger. You know you've got the oddest taste in food."

Peter looks up. "I've got an odd taste? Don't really want to hear that coming from you."

"My taste isn't odd; just classy. Something you probably don't know about."

"Ha ha, I need you to take a look at these. I think they're forgeries, but I can't tell."

"Well, let me see."

At that very moment, Harvey and Mike burst through the doors of Peter's temporary office.

"Hello agent Burke. Caffrey," Harvey greets with a smile at Peter and a dismissive wave at Neal.

"Mr. Specter," Neal greets with a blinding smirk on his face, "Well, well this is a pleasant surprise. Come for a rematch or are you actually doing something important this time around?"

"I'm always doing something important," Harvey growls.

Mike cuts in before anything gets worse. "We heard you might be onto something so we came over as fast as possible. Anything we can help with?"

"No, no," Neal says dismissively, "Nothing we need you for Harvey."

"Neal, just check the papers," Peter says with a sigh.

"Roger that," Neal bends over the papers to get a looks and then pops right back up five seconds later.

"Forgeries."

"How do you know?" Harvey asks.

"The paint's mixed incorrectly."

"Prove it."

"Enough," Peter says, "Mr. Specter, if Neal says that's a forgery, it's a forgery. There's a reason the FBI hired him."

"What are they?" Mike asks.

"Papers from the Julian company case," Neal responds, "Peter, this says that the company is in Jackson, Mississippi…"

"That's not right," Mike cuts in and says, "The Julian Company is on 206 Park Avenue in Pittsburg."

Neal and Peter both turn and stare.

"Are you sure man?" Neal asks, "I mean this case was a while ago…"

"He's sure," Harvey says, cutting Neal off, "There's a reason I keep him around as well."

"Eidetic memory," Mike mumbles; embarrassed at all the attention."

"Wow, that's handy. You know in another life you would've made an amazing criminal, even just a petty one," Neal says with a smile.

Mike fidgets a bit at that. Neal gapes.

"No way…"

Peter clears his throat and effectively cuts off what Neal would have said.

"Enough. Neal, I don't really want to know. What I don't hear can't hurt me."

Mike lets out the breath he did not realize he was holding. Safe. Suddenly, Louis bursts into the office.

"What's going on here?" he asks.

"Louis. What a surprise," Harvey responds. "We're just showing the newest senior member and his associate the ropes. Jessica really likes this one."

"That's nice, but I was under the impression that I'm in charge of the associates."

"Yeah well, apparently not all of them," Harvey says with a meaningful look to Mike.

"Mr. Litt," Peter butts in and extends his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you. Did you need us for something?"

Louis shakes Peter's hand and says, "Not now, but I will want to see Mr. D'Agay in my office after you're done."

"Got it," Neal says with a smirk and a thumbs up.

Louis sends a warning glare in Neal's direction and stalks off.

"What an ass," Neal sums up eloquently.

Harvey smirks. "At least we agree on something, Caffrey."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry for the amazing delay. It's back though. Enjoy

/./././

"So who do you report suspicious activity to, Neal?"

Neal sighs in a semi-exasperated manner. He doesn't understand why Peter constantly rehashes rules over with him. Neal knows the rules and he always (mostly) follows them.

"I report suspicious activity straight to you, we talk over it, and we come up with a solution-"

"_Together_. We come up with one together, Neal. No going rogue on this one."

"Yes, yes, I understand, Peter. I heard you the first fifty times."

Peter Burke narrows his eyes at his consultant. Neal realizes that he's pushed his luck this time and puts on his best 'sorry' smile that would've had anyone else melting on the floor. Luckily, or unluckily, Peter knows Neal well enough to know all his little tricks. Peter pushes Neal out the door, towards Louis' office.

Neal really doesn't want to see Louis Litt. Not only is the man repulsively ugly, he also seems even more insufferable than Harvey. He's completely stuck up and thinks too highly of himself, if Neal read him correctly at the office. Neal highly doubts he's wrong though; it's his job to read people, and Louis is like an open book, a totally boring book that's barely worth the effort, but an easy read, nonetheless.

Neal saunters into Louis' office and says, "You wanted to see me?"

"Took you long enough," Louis growls, "I summoned you a whole five minutes ago!"

"Wow, five whole minutes," Neal mutters, but out loud he says, "Sorry, my boss wanted to go over something with me. Is there something you wanted Mr. Litt?"

"Well first, you can get it through your newbie head that I'm your boss, got it?"

Neal scoffs inwardly. There's no way in hell this man is ever going to be his boss; he's already got a boss, and out of the two of them, Peter's definitely the more intimidating one.

"Of course," Neal flashes one of his million watt smiles, "Anything else?"

"Yeah, see in this company, I'm in charge of you pathetic associates so I'm in charge of punishment. In other words, if I want you sacked, you're sacked."

A young man around Neal's age knocks on the door and Louis looks up. With a smile to Neal, he waves the guy in.

"Mr. Litt, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I did. Do you know why?"

The guy pauses for a while and then says, "No, I don't think so…"

"The last case I gave you?"

Realization dawns on the guy's face, "Mr. Litt! I was only a few-"

Louis puts his hand up and silences him, "I don't want to hear it. Here at Pearson-Hardman, we only hire the best, which you clearly are not. You're fired. Leave."

The other guy sputters around a bit, and then storms out. Louis turns to Neal with a smile on his face. Neal matches it with a smile of his own. No way in hell Neal fell for that pathetic act. Still, if that's the way Louis wants to play it…

"Wow," Neal says, blue eyes wide open, "That was pretty harsh."

"I know, impressive right?"

"Very…Mr. Litt?"

"Yes?"

"If you don't mind me asking, with a work ethic like that, why aren't you a senior partner yet?"

Louis freezes. Bingo.

"W-well…"

Neal leans forward and gives off the air of a curious five-year old.

Louis clears his throat. "Someone's got to stay and control you little infants. Jessica knows I'm up to the job, that's all."

"Wow," Neal teases, "You sure are dedicated. Still though, I think you deserve senior partner."

Louis turns red in anger and embarrassment. "Yes, I knew _that_ already! We're done here, leave!"

"Yes sir," Neal says and immediately makes his escape. Boy, if all lawyers are this easy, Neal figures this is going to be the best case _ever_.

/./././

"Neal, what happened to not getting fired?"

"But Peter," Neal whines, "I work for you so technically he can't fire me anyways. And the asshole had it coming!"

"Neal," Peter growls.

"Fine, I promise to make pretty to people more, but still…"

"Don't worry about Louis Litt, I'll take care of him."

Neal perks up, "Really?"

"Yeah, we don't need him in the way of our investigation."

Peter picks up the phone and dials up Diana.

"Boss?" Diana asks as soon as she picks up, "What's up?"

"Diana, there's a man that could be a problem. Any way you could cook up an alias and preoccupy him?"

"She could be an investigator of work conditions that's investigating the company," Neal says, "Her name is Ms. Janette Lisby, graduate of Princeton, and is working on a paper that she intends to release to the public. Make sure you ask to be shown around by Junior Associate, Louis Litt."

Peter shoots Neal a 'really?' look and asks, "Did you get that?"

"Yeah, Boss," Diana replies, "I got it. I will be there this afternoon."

"I'll organize it with Jessica," Peter says, and with that, he hangs up.

Peter gets up and heads to Jessica's office with Neal trailing close behind. The two of them reach the office and push the door open. Jessica looks up as the two men enter her room.

"Gentlemen," she greets, "How may I help you?"

Neal and Peter explain the situation to her and she ensures them that she'll lead Diana right to Louis when she arrives, and she suggests they alert Harvey as well. Peter agrees and Neal groans, but doesn't say much more past that. The two then exit the office.

/./././

"So how was the meeting with Louis?" Mike asks Neal when both were back at the cubicles.

"Fine," Neal says flippantly, "Hey, does he always bring in an actor and…"

"Fires them? You caught onto that, huh?"

"Yeah, he really ought to hire professionals, not just random workers. I'm actually insulted that he though that it'd work on me."

"Yeah, well not everyone knows your actual profession."

"Alleged profession, don't forget the alleged."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Mike says sarcastically. "So how was the meeting with Louis? You know he's going to be riding you hard, right?"

"Well, he would, but Peter took care of it. He'll be out of the way soon enough."

Just that very moment, a huge pile of papers is dumped on Mike's desk. Mike looks up to see Louis Litt standing right in front of him with a self-satisfied smile on his face.

"I want those by tomorrow, Ross."

"But Harvey-"

"I don't give a damn. Tomorrow, or you're fired."

With that, Louis walks off. Neal leans over and whistles at the amount of work piled on Mike's desk.

"Wow, he really doesn't like you, huh?"

"Not me," Mike grumbles miserably, "Harvey."

Neal shakes his head in disbelief. Just how many people does Harvey Specter piss off on a day to day basis? Unbelievable…

"Harsh. You want some help?"

"Thank, but you got your own work."

Harvey walks in. "What's Louis looking so happy about?"

Mike gestures to the huge pile of papers and says, "He found a way to make my life more miserable."

"What about my work?"

"I'm getting it done now."

"Good." Then Harvey somehow manages to sweep all the papers off Mike's desk and dump them onto Gregory's.

"Do it."

Gregory gapes at the amount of work that was just dumped onto his desk, but since Harvey Specter is the one who asked, he dare not complain. Instead, he picks up the first sheet and starts to fill it out.

"Wow, lucky break," Neal says. In his mind, he's secretly chuckling. So even the great Harvey Specter has a weak spot; good to know. Know thine enemy and all that.

"Yeah," Mike sighs in relief, "tell me about it."

Neal sees Diana walk into the office. As she passes his desk she offers him a small nod- unnoticeable by anyone else's standards- and briskly makes her way over to Jessica's office. Showing her the way is one of the associates. If Neal is correct, he introduced himself as Harold before. He pauses momentarily at Neal's desk.

"Um, you're Neal, right? Mr. Kingsley's associate?"

"I am," Neal says with his patented grin, "What does Peter want now?"

"I-I don't know. He just said it was important and to meet him immediately."

Important? Neal hops off his seat and steps out of the cubicle.

"Thanks, see you around."

Neal waves goodbye to Mike and Mike nods.

As he leaves, Neal feels all eyes on him. Guess lawyers aren't too different from anyone else after all.


End file.
